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I see it on forums every day...young lifters getting crammed into little worry boxes where they obsess with every gram they eat by experienced lifters. There is some kind of power trip aspect to all this.

Yes there is.

On another Bodybuilding.com forum, the attitude of several of the experienced people is that, anything less than total slavery does not equate to being a bodybuilder.

Unless you are a total lifestyle slave, you have no right to call yourself a bodybuilder. Then there is also the mindset of, you must have competed at least once, to call yourself a bodybuilder. Then there is the mindset of, your not a bodybuilder till somebody else calls you a body builder.

I'm building my body. I'm a bodybuilder, I'm just not finished yet. Furthermore, I will not let anybody elses negative attitude affect how I feel. That does not mean I'm not critical and realistic about where I'm at.

OCD = obsessive compulsive disorder, implying an extreme, unhealthy obsession with details that are, in general, a waste of time.

For example, if Joe Smith starts a thread on a forum asking..."Should I take 175 or 175.54 grams of protein in combination with 41.02 grams of fiber, if I take my creatine post workout with waxy maize, and a multi-vitamin before bed."

On another Bodybuilding.com forum, the attitude of several of the experienced people is that, anything less than total slavery does not equate to being a bodybuilder.

Unless you are a total lifestyle slave, you have no right to call yourself a bodybuilder. Then there is also the mindset of, you must have competed at least once, to call yourself a bodybuilder. Then there is the mindset of, your not a bodybuilder till somebody else calls you a body builder.

I'm building my body. I'm a bodybuilder, I'm just not finished yet. Furthermore, I will not let anybody elses negative attitude affect how I feel. That does not mean I'm not critical and realistic about where I'm at.

I prefer to totally detach from the bodybuilding stigma...not from bodybuilding. Most lifters never compete. Some, like me, train for strength and size. Most lifters don't give a rip about competitions. I don't remember most competitions, but I remember bodybuilders with great physiques.

And I will say this as politely as possibler without slipping into full rant mode. I don't care to count grams. I've never needed to count grams. I don't care to worry about diet. I've never need to worry about diet.

I am a small-boned lifter who has broke all the rules and still thrived. I do not like being a slave to macronutrients, and other nutrients. If you want to count your daily omega 3 intake, by all means have at it! But when people pretend, or fall into self dillusion about there being only one way - well, it's insanity.

If you want to compete, then yes - diet is everything. And you do have to count everything.

I just editing an article today that was written by a younger lifter. It stated:

Quote:

Dieting is THE most important part of muscle building.

No it is not!

Dieting is the most important aspect to competing.

Of course when we talk "dieting" it is usually associated with OCD bodybuilding staples like X meals every X minutes with proper food timing, and whey protein here, and casein there.

I have to tell you, and I have mentioned this to Glwanabe - I don't eat 5 protein meals a day. My eating is like this:

In the past, I have eaten like a bodybuilder. But I have rarely remained strict with any orthodox bodybuilding diet mantras in the last 10 years. Why? I have found that simply eating more is the fastest way to gain muscle.

I'm not implying that my dieting madness is perfect for anyone other then me. I've learned my body, and know what works. I just don't see the value in the slavery.

I prefer to totally detach from the bodybuilding stigma...not from bodybuilding. Most lifters never compete. Some, like me, train for strength and size. Most lifters don't give a rip about competitions. I don't remember most competitions, but I remember bodybuilders with great physiques.

And I will say this as politely as possibler without slipping into full rant mode. I don't care to count grams. I've never needed to count grams. I don't care to worry about diet. I've never need to worry about diet.

I am a small-boned lifter who has broke all the rules and still thrived. I do not like being a slave to macronutrients, and other nutrients. If you want to count your daily omega 3 intake, by all means have at it! But when people pretend, or fall into self dillusion about there being only one way - well, it's insanity.

If you want to compete, then yes - diet is everything. And you do have to count everything.

I just editing an article today that was written by a younger lifter. It stated:

No it is not!

Dieting is the most important aspect to competing.

Of course when we talk "dieting" it is usually associated with OCD bodybuilding staples like X meals every X minutes with proper food timing, and whey protein here, and casein there.

I have to tell you, and I have mentioned this to Glwanabe - I don't eat 5 protein meals a day. My eating is like this:

In the past, I have eaten like a bodybuilder. But I have rarely remained strict with any orthodox bodybuilding diet mantras in the last 10 years. Why? I have found that simply eating more is the fastest way to gain muscle.

I'm not implying that my dieting madness is perfect for anyone other then me. I've learned my body, and know what works. I just don't see the value in the slavery.

Slip into full rant mode!! I like to hear your full unedited opinion. However, your post is still solid, and gets the point across.

I especially like the part about making the distinction between building, muscle, and competing for competition, in regards to diet considerations. They are not totally unrelated, but there is enough of a divide between them to treat them on there own terms.

The thing that really frustrates me about all this is the fact that too much useless, worthless information is given to trainees before they have even learned how to gain weight by calories alone.

I see people doing this to a 14 year old who weighs 140...

"Calculate your BMR and add 500 calories...this is how many calories you need to grow. Then, break said calories in the ratio of blah/blah/blah. Next, divide calories into 6 tidy meals...and you'll grow like a weed."

To any 14 year olds who are 5'10", and weight 140, listen close...

Using a very popular BMR calculator on the web...one that takes into account your activity level...it tells me that you need:

2,382 calories to maintain

Here's where you need to listen...

This is utter BS!

Most likely, you could eat double that and have a hard time gaining weight. Why?

A) You eat like crap right now. Doritos, soda, junk food, and crap. You eat a ton of junk calories already, and aren't gaining weight.
B) I am 42 years old and maintain weight on 3400 calories per day. If you eat 500 over that estimate - 2882 - you will probably lose weight!

I don't want you eating chicken. I want you eating 2 weight gain shakes a day, 6-8 cups whole milk, a large bag of doritos, all the cup cakes and pop-tarts you want, frozen pizzas by the dozens, etc.

Oh! No! So unhealthy!

A) It's not that much worse then how you eat now.
B) You are UNDERWEIGHT. Do you want some rapid weight gain, or not?
C) This isn't meant to be a lifestyle - forever diet.

Do this for a month. See how much weight you gain, and make adjustments from there. It takes hard work and practice to eat a tron of "healthy" calories. Healthy bulking is VERY difficult for young hardgainers with high metabolisms.

By all means...if you can healthy bulk and eat 6000 calories a day, have at it. I recommend 75% good, 25% bad food. Despite what the OCD legions of BB.com say, most people eat WORSE then that. You do to! So this is an improvement.

I was thinking, as I was driving to the grocery store about this. Especially the part about labels. Being labled a bodybuilder, or powerlifter, or Olympic lifter.

I lift to get strong. I lift to achieve an aesthetic goal. I lift using Olympic lift movements. What am I? I'm not hung up on labels, but for the most part I would say I'm a Classic style natural bodybuilder. I think it just helps other people to understand what we are trying to achieve if they can form a mental picture of the product we are trying to build.

I think it speaks a lot to the mindset of the person who says you can't call yourself a BB, or powrlifter, or whatever until you fit into somebody elses criteria.

I have a pilots license. I have never flown a 747, or an aircraft that most people consider to be a big airplane. Regardless, I am a pilot! The cliques can keep there elitest attitudes. If you tell me your a bodybuilder, then regardless of what you look like now, I know where your heading. The same can be said for Powerlifters, or Olympic lifters.

i did the gay p90x home workout thing. I wieghed 172. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months. I lost a lot of muscle because too strict a diet. I wasnt anorexic, but LITERALLY OCD, too the point where it was very unhealthy. I never had anyone say anything, this is just something i know. I ruined my vacation last year my eating healthy. Also i was a cardio whore. I'd sometimes workout 2+ times a day.

I was so determined for a 6-pack. It was very unhealthy. I got my 6-pack and was a skinny piece of shit.

I was so messed up in the head thinking i was fat it was rediculous. I never want to go back to this.

Now im going with a much more healthy (mentally) approach. I dont care about fat, or a 6-pack. I just watch calories within +/- of my goal daily intake. I eat whatever(within reason). I barely do cardio (actually could use a little more).

i dont really know what the point of this post is. I just think some teen guys get so hung up on having a 6-pack, they get unhealthy.
I may write an article about this sometime...?